More About
This Textbook

Overview

Medical Marvels is an introduction to some of the ideas, people, and accomplishments that have influenced the development of healing. While it examines and celebrates human ingenuity's most hallowed ground, it is not a history per se of medicine - it is equally concerned with our current climate, and it is a call to thought and action.
Meet the people who continue to make a telling difference to the human condition - people like Hippocrates, Galen, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Gregor Mendel, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Louis Pasteur, Florence Nightingale, Oswald Theodore Avery, Harold Varmus, and Rosalyn S. Yalow. Discover what drove them and marvel at the brilliance of their contributions.
Encounter great ideas - including the doctor-patient relationship, the germ theory of disease, vaccination, immunology, genetics, preventive medicine, stem cells, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and treatment - and learn about the art, science, and significance of these ideas.
Within the context of discovery and compassion at the heart of every medical advance, Medical Marvels considers the powerful forces controlling both the science and distribution of healthcare. By reading this absorbing and important book, everyone interested in good healthcare will gain a new appreciation for the achievements, the roadblocks that have been overcome and those still looming, as well as the great promise medicine holds for the future.
Healthcare is among the most significant issues of our time, and it will be more so in the future. If you want a powerful and accurate lens to understand the history of medicine as well as the societal and scientific challenges it is facing now and in the future - then Medical Marvels is for you.

What People Are Saying

William T. Golden

"Two wise men, Dr. Eugene Straus and his son Alex, have written a splendid book on medical and health-related matters. It's eminently readable, informative, open-minded, and thought provoking. One hundred concise chapters: palatable, protein packed, and easily digested. Rx one to five chapters daily. Read them and you'll enjoy life more fully. And live longer, too!"
—Chairman Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History"At a time when bedrock scientific principles like evolution are being challenged anew, it's refreshing and important to read a book which takes as its goal the celebration of science. MEDICAL MARVELS is an immensley engrossing survey which makes clear how dramatically scientific understanding has improved our lives. It's also a textbook example of how to write short, entertaining and informative capsule biographies. For this alone, it should be required reading in all writing programs."
—Associate Publisher, The Nation

Rosalyn S. Yalow

"This book provides a fascinating overview of the history of modern medicine. With figures ranging in time from the beginnings of medicine with Hippocrates, to the cutting edge of modern discoveries, it's an essential addition to the general interest literature on medical history."
—Nobel Laureate

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"This book provides a fascinating overview of the history of modern medicine. With figures ranging in time from the beginnings of medicine with Hippocrates, to the cutting edge of modern discoveries, it's an essential addition to the general interest literature on medical history."
Dr. Rosalyn S. Yalow, Nobel Laureate

"At a time when bedrock scientific principles like evolution are being challenged anew, it's refreshing and important to read a book which takes as its goal the celebration of science. Medical Marvels is an immensely engrossing survey which makes clear how dramatically scientific understanding has improved our lives. It's also a textbook example of how to write short, entertaining, and informative capsule biographies. For this alone, it should be required reading in all writing programs."
Peter Rothberg, Associate Publisher, The Nation

JAMA

"Medical Marvels can help draw budding doctors and even seasoned practitioners closer to a fuller picture of medicine, help them realize that the war between doctors and diseases is hardly over, remind them of widening health inequalities, and lead them to ponder how healers have become "providers" and patients "customers." Despite the subtitle, Medical Marvels is not another romp through important medical advances but rather a lively documentary of the social, cultural, and human dimensions of health, illness, therapies, and caregivers...vividly portrays an enlightening story of a profession that has striven formidably against changing enemies...thought-provoking..." -- Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).2006; 296: 706-707 August 2006

JCI

"[An] interesting, richly illustrated book for both the layman and scientist who wish to develop broad baseline information on major medical advances...strongly recommended as interesting, informative, and stimulating reading."
-Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), September 2006

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Eugene W. Straus, MD, author of the acclaimed Rosalyn Yalow, Nobel Laureate, is emeritus professor of medicine at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. He was formerly chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases, director of the Digestive Disease Training Program, and acting cochair of the Department of Medicine there. He is the author of approximately 150 articles in the medical and scientific literature.
Alex Straus is a contributing editor at Maxim magazine, specializing in new technology, sports, and feature-length articles. He is the author of Guerilla Golf.

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by:
Showing
1
Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Posted June 12, 2006

CAPTURES THE BRAIN AND HEART OF MEDICINE

Medical Marvels is informative, authoratative, provocative, and a great read. It helped me to understand the current state of medical arts and sciences, and the conflicts facing us in the healthcare market. It clarified what I should fight for in the upcoming healthcare battles. It's in everyones best interest to read this book. I gave my doctor a copy. I hope she reads it.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.